After Tottenham’s second-half collapse at the Etihad two weeks ago, a dispassionate Antonio Conte used his post-match meeting to present his squad with a series of hard facts about their defending — the most damning of which was that they had conceded 21 times in 10 games.
The session, which would normally have been a Conte-led video analysis of the game, turned into a frank exchange of views, with several senior players, including Harry Kane, speaking out. Afterwards everyone was in agreement: Spurs had no chance of saving their season unless they got back to the basics of defending.
